Meghan Markle has “failed” to mix with wealthy neighbours in the celebrity enclave of Montecito in California, according to a new Geman documentary about Prince Harry and Meghan titled ‘Harry: The Lost Prince’.
The documentary aired on Germany’s ZDF network on Tuesday and looked at the life of the royal couple after stepping down as working royals in 2020 and moving to Los Angeles.
The couple received some damning criticism from those that know them including Richard Mineards, one of the couple’s neighbours.
He issued a brutal 12-word verdict about the Duchess of Sussex, stating: “‘I personally don’t think that Meghan is an asset to our community.”
He added: “She doesn’t really go out or get involved with the community.”
Defending Prince Harry, however, he commented the Prince had made an effort to become involved with the community. He explained: “Harry has to a certain extent, because he’s quite jolly…but Meghan doesn’t seem to get seen anywhere…. And you don’t see him either.”
Dai Davies, a former Head of Royal Protection and a Divisional Commander in the Metropolitan Police also criticised Harry of failing to mix with ordinary people.
As reported in the Daily Mail, he said: “In Colombia, although there are very rich people there, the vast majority, 85 percent or 90 percent, are very poor.
“And what I’ve noticed of these tours, he mixes with the upper classes. He doesn’t really, apart from carefree orchestrated areas where he mixes with so-called the ‘normal people’ – well they’re not.”
He added: “These are carefully orchestrated campaigns as far as I can see… I look quite dispassionately at the evidence and the evidence I’ve seen is, it’s all about Harry and Meghan.”
However shortly after the tour, many experts praised the Colombia tour as a success as the couple engaged with school children about Invictus Games training, trying to form genuine connections.
Elsewhere in the show, royal biographer Angela Levin said that the prince “didn’t get exactly what he wanted” as he wanted to be half in and half out of the Royal Family.
She said in the programme: “But the late Queen who died said that actually doesn’t work and I don’t want you to use your position within the royal family to make money.”
Also in the documentary, royal expert Jack Royston, from the Newsweek podcast The Royal Report, said that if the couple were to do this when they left it would have been on the border of “corruption”.
He said: “If they were to be perceived to be promoting their commercial projects while representing the Queen, then that’s also… starting to border on corruption there because they should never be using the monarchy as a platform.”
Despite Harry and Meghan not appearing to mix very much in their local neighbourhood, it appears the family are happier than ever, and are enjoying spending lots of quality time with their children, Archie and Lilibet.
The Duchess recently revealed in an interview with Marie Claire that “every year it gets better”, referring to spending Christmas with her small family unit across the pond.
The Express has contacted the Sussex’s representatives for comment.
